Look up the weapons laws in general for your state... For example in Nevada you google "nevada revised statutes, weapons"

You'll usually find something with a "discharged of firearm against the law/penalty" or something similar, and it will usually include "discharge not illegal when done in self defense, see nrs 202.blahblahblah..."

Kayla, I know from your recent post in your other thread that the expense of all this is getting you down, so I hate to suggest this, but I will anyway.

Given the situation you're in, in which there's a much better than average chance that you might need to defend yourself, contacting a knowledgeable attorney NOW would be one of the best investments you can make. Not only would he or she be able to answer these questions for you, but if (Heaven forfend!) you actually did need to defend yourself, with a gun or otherwise, it would be really good to know an attorney you could call right then. Not because you've done anything wrong, but because the police will be investigating, and "I want to cooperate with you in every way, but I need to talk to my attorney first" is the second most important thing you can say to the cops, right after "I was afraid for my life."

I'm not looking for anyone to answer for me, jfrey! Just looking for online references and not finding much.

Cliff, that site you reference is taking me into a morass where I can't find anything much at all.

Vanya, I don't see that as doable at this time. I'm sure you're right and it's a great idea. But I need to make difficult decisions and not put myself into so much debt that I destroy my financial life. Attorney fees are not even remotely on my list right now.

Unloading, I'm looking for NV law relating to home/self defense, in particular.

Kayla, I do understand how expensive it all is, and how little you want to go broke dealing with this. Even if you don't want to do a long consultation, though, think about finding an attorney who practices in this area of the law, just so you do have someone on tap in case of need. The fee for a brief meeting shouldn't amount to that much, and is one of the best investments you can make, given your situation.

...that site you reference is taking me into a morass where I can't find anything much at all....

That's the way the law is, and that is why if you have a real live question, and want a good answer, you ask an attorney. We spend years studying that "morass", learning how to navigate through it, learning how to separate what's important from what's not important and learning how to apply it to real life.

Another thing to look for would be a good NRA certified instructor offering an NRA Personal Protection in the Home class. If it's identified as an NRA class, it must follow the NRA form. And if it does that, it will include a segment on the law of self defense. To meet NRA standards, that segment must be taught by an attorney or LEO (or someone else properly certified to teach "use of force" law). A decent instructor will have the training and experience to distill that morass to something manageable and could also turn out to be a useful resource for you.

But trying to begin to understand the law by just reading the statutes is daunting, and usually not very fruitful, endeavor. Trying to understand how they apply to real world situations is seldom easy or intuitive.

Fiddletown articulated this much better than I could... and the NRA course is a great suggestion. (Smacks head and says "duh!" here... )

Here's another link -- to the home page of the The Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association... the site is a bit out of date, but their "legal" page does list a few attorneys who specialize in firearms law, and they may be able to suggest others if you contact them directly. (And I hope the out of date web site doesn't mean they're defunct...)

__________________
Never let anything mechanical know you're in a hurry.

NRS 200.200 Killing in self-defense. If a person kills another in self-defense, it must appear that:

1. The danger was so urgent and pressing that, in order to save his own life, or to prevent his receiving great bodily harm, the killing of the other was absolutely necessary; and

2. The person killed was the assailant, or that the slayer had really, and in good faith, endeavored to decline any further struggle before the mortal blow was given. [1911 C&P § 137; RL § 6402; NCL § 10084]

best choice for what you are asking is to go directly to your state's gun laws, they should be on line.

another choice after reading through all that is to discuss it and possibly take a concealed weapons class for your state. I would assume the class would cover the law in your state for using deadly force. In most states the burden to use deadly force is a lot different inside or on your property and out in public.

Reading the laws is all well and good, but this is not the time to get wrapped around the axle splitting legal hairs.

I live in Texas where the deadly force laws are fairly liberal, even allowing deadly force to protect property in some limited circumstances.

After having read and pondered all the governing statutes, I decided that if someone was about to cause grave harm to my wife or myself, and the only way I could prevent it would be to shoot him, then I would shoot him.

Not saying I would absolutely not shoot to defend an innocent third party, just that such a circumstance would need to be evaluated case-by-case, if time allowed.

Balance in your mind the harm that might come to you from the attacker versus the Law. If the attacker is more dangerous, and you can't dissuade him any other way, you are probably best advised to shoot him center of mass until he stops attacking you.

All the legal complexities take too much time to consider at the time of the attack. The shoot / no-shoot decision must be made in advance - draw the line in the sand mentally so you won't dither at crunch time.

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